Posts tagged David Hyun

One of the most fascinating neighbors I have had the pleasure of meeting is Architect David Hyun. While walking the neighborhood a year ago, Donna and I met David Hyun in front of his striking residence on Redesdale Avenue. It is a house I had always been curious about, with its seven- gabled roof of blue ceramic tiles. To our surprise, David invited us in not only to give us a home tour, but to relate his fascinating life story and that of his great father, the late Reverend Soon Hyun, one of the primary figures in the establishment of the Republic of Korea. The Reverend Soon Hyun’s influence in creating a free and independent Korea shaped the thinking of his youngest son, David. He grew up as a political refuge in Hawaii and as a student, excelled in math and science. He graduated from the University of Hawaii in mathematics and physics, but soon saw that his real love was for architecture. After graduation, he made his way to SouthernCalifornia determined to be an architect. He took a few night classes at the USC School of Architecture while working janitorial jobs and studied during his lunch breaks. He passed the state licensing exam on his first try! His engaging personality and willingness to learn were immediately recognized by his contemporaries, and he soon found work in the leading architectural firms in Los Angeles. During his early years, he was associated with A. Quincy Jones, Jr., Neutra and Alexander, and Arnet & David, some of the leading architectural firms of the day.David opened his own architectural practice, David Hyun Associates, Inc. in 1953. His interpretative architectural designs express a philosophy that “the architecture of the present best expresses the hope of the future by uniting not only with the past, but by joining cultures both east and west.”

His greatest architectural and cultural achievement was the establishment of the Japanese Village Plaza, which transformed Little Tokyo in Los Angeles from an urban slum into a thriving urban community in the early 1980s. David’s experience over four decades of real estate development, financing, contracting, engineering and architecture, as well as his passion for uniting people both east and west, uniquely prepared him for this undertaking. In a culture of “it can’t be done”, David, armed with his vision and determination, managed to unite the interests of private, institutional, community and government resources to revitalize a neighborhood against seemingly impossible odds. For this contribution alone, our community owes a debt of gratitude to David Hyun.

One of the most striking and unusual homes in Silver Lake, Architect David Hyun designed his palace-by-the-lake for his personal residence in 1993. The style is reminiscent of the Japanese Village Plaza, David Hyun’s pioneering work that propelled Little Tokyo from an urban slum into a chic inner city success story.

Born in Korea, David is the son of the late, great Rev. Soon Hyun, Korean Patriot. Rev. Hyun was a college student in Korea at a time when Korea was under the dominion of Imperial Japan. In his American history studies, he idealized America in its struggle to gain independence from the British. Rev. Hyun rejected colonialism, adopted Western ideas and converted to Christianity. Within time, he became pastor of the largest Protestant church in Korea. As Sunday School Superintendent for his denomination, he traveled extensively throughout Korea, preaching Christianity and its revolutionary ideas. He encouraged Koreans to reject the serfdom imposed by their Japanese overlords and to seek a new life of freedom. He encouraged his people to adopt Korea’s Declaration of Independence on March 1, 1919, leading to demonstrations throughout Korea in the world’s first non-violent pacifist revolution.

Rev. Hyun continued to lead his people by founding the Republic of Korea, adopting a national constitution and electing a parliament for the provisional government. David Hyun, Soon Hyun’s youngest son, keeps his memory alive with a vast collection of his memoirs and papers in a wing of this large magnificent home overlooking Silver Lake. It is a great story and one that may never be told.

The David Hyun Residence is located at 1954 Redesdale Avenue in Silver Lake. The home showcases a magnificent art collection, memorabilia from ancient Korea incredible views from three levels, over 4,000 sq. feet of living space, and is a treat to visit.